Our Republic
by TheOnlyPotato
Summary: A series of one-shots based off of One Republic/Other Songs set during Mockingjay. Enjoy friends.
1. Part I

**If I Lose Myself (Part I of V)**

_If I lose myself tonight,  
It'll be you and I  
If I lose myself tonight_

Peeta rocks on the floor of his compartment in District 13 as the images wrack his frail body. His eyes are bloodshot and crazed, and his hands shake worse than he does.

Flashes of his arena, of his family and of Katniss burn through his eyelids and he's slowly losing his will to fight.

The tears pour from his eyes in a steady waterfall and he searches for his knife, the knife that he managed to steal from the kitchen. He finds it under his bed and, in an attempt to stop the pain, slashes his wrists. It doesn't help with his episode, not by a long-shot but it manages to get his mind off of the confusion. His eyes roll back in his head and it doesn't take long for the crazed boy to drift into slumber.

That's just the way Katniss finds him. Lying in a pool of his own blood, his eyes closed. She shakes him, not wanting to think the worst. Luckily, he didn't die of blood loss and he wakes up albeit delirious. Peeta begins to scream, slashing his knife at Katniss and yelling all sorts of profanities. In his rage. he stands and begins to trash his room, leaving Katniss backed into a corner and scared.

"Peeta, it's me! It's just Katniss! Peeta!" She pleads. This seems to snap him out of his rampage and he looks over to her, breathing hard.

"Go. Get out," his voice is one of a kicked animal and she can't leave him. Not in this mindset. She approaches him slowly.

"I'm not leaving," she whispers, pulling him into a hug. Peeta wraps his arms around her and she can feel his tears drip onto the crown of her head. He's scared.

"I'm losing, Katniss. I'm losing myself and I don't want to hurt you, I don't-" He cuts off, just holding her there. Katniss nods, inhaling his scent. Even like this, he never lost the wonderful smell of baked bread and sugar and coal and _him._

"If I lose myself... if I go crazy… Katniss I don't want to be alone."

"I'm not going anywhere, Peeta. We'll go crazy together," she replies, with a soft chuckle. Tears begin to streak down his face and she stands on the tips of her toes to kiss him gently.

_If I lose myself tonight,  
It'll be by your side  
If I lose myself tonight_


	2. Part II

**Something I Need (Part II of V)**

_You got something I need  
And in this world full of people  
There's one killing me  
And if we only die once  
I wanna die with you_

Haymitch glares at Effie as she tends to one of the people in District 8. He kneels next to her, where she's treating a severe burn victim and he can tell she's holding back bile. Another nurse notices her struggle and pushes them away. Haymitch takes her hand and leads her outside for some fresh air.

Effie throws herself into his arms, sobbing.

"He was six, Haymitch. A six-year-old boy who had his parents die. And now he might die and I-"

"Feel like shit?"

"Yes! I feel like shit!" Haymitch is shocked. He's never heard Effie cuss before. She breaks away from his embrace and begins to rant. "I feel like shit because this is all my fault! If I had just picked another girl in that reaping we wouldn't be here and that little boy wouldn't be dying!"

"Effs, calm down. There was no way you could have possibly known. Come here, princess," he says pulling her back into his arms. She's being racked with sobs and Haymitch knows if she keeps this up she'll have an asthma attack.

"Listen, princess, you're going to work yourself to death and then where would we be? I need you to focus, focus on me. Take a deep breath. I know it's scary and tough and fuck… I know, princess. But you have to keep your shit together."

"Haymitch, I had a dream the other night," she whispers. "And in it, I realized how we only get one life. I stayed awake all night, staring at the back of your head because I knew if I didn't think about you in that moment I would lose my fucking mind. I've had the longest week and this… this is all too much."

"I know, princess," he replies, kissing her head. He remembers how she had come back into their shared compartment yesterday night looking worse for wear.

"If I go flying off the edge Haymitch-"

"Then I'll go with you Princess. But just hold on, a little longer. It gets better, princess, I promise."

"When?" Haymitch doesn't reply to that question. They stay in an embrace a little longer before Paylor exits with a clipboard, frustration and tired written all over her face.

"Abernathy, back in there. We're short on medics, we need you," she snaps. Haymitch bends down to kiss her before releasing her to go back to her duties.

_You got something I need  
And in this full of people  
There's one killing me  
And if we only die once  
I wanna die with you_


	3. Part III

**Secrets (Part III of V)**

_This time  
Tell me another perfect lie  
The critics never jump in line  
I'm gonna give all my secrets away_

Finnick glances at Plutarch, his eyes wide and uncomfortable.

"I…"

"Just enough for us to get the others out. It'll help us get Annie out, too," Plutarch says, clamping his hands over the man's shoulders. Haymitch cuts in before Plutarch can lay on the charm.

"No way, no fucking way," he snaps, removing his hand from Finnick. Finnick turns to Haymitch, his eyes determined.

"It'll help, Haymitch. I want to help. I'm not completely useless anymore and this is my chance to help."

"You're not ready. You… you don't need this," the older man says. Finnick balls his string in his hand, and frowns.

"You don't have to protect me anymore. I'm twenty-five; I think I can handle telling a little story."

"This isn't _a little story_. This is our lives. Finnick, _please_. Don't do this. Look, we'll figure something out. Just, not this. You would be telling-"

"If it was Johanna, or Cash, or even Brutus they'd want you and I tell what happened to us. They'd want us to help. We have to help, Haymitch. One of us has to tell the story."

"You don't have to do this," he whispers, exasperated. Finnick nods.

"Yes I do, if it will help them… if it'll help her." Finnick ignores the rest of his protest and turns to Plutarch, nodding his head.

"I need to get this off my chest, something I can confess. Tell me what you what to hear," he says. Plutarch nods and guides him to where Katniss is struggling with her interview. He gently guides the girl away and sets Finnick down in front of the camera. The lights adjust, the camera zooms in, and he can feel the pressure of making this perfect weigh on his shoulder.

"President Snow used to… sell me. My body that is," his voice is flat but his eyes are filled with ambition and determination. "I wasn't the only one," his eyes flicker to Haymitch, who has sat down, powerless.

"If a victor is considered desirable, the president gives them as a reward or allows people to buy them for an exuberant amount of money. If you refuse, he kills someone you love. So you do it. I wasn't the only one but I was the most popular. I wasn't just popular, I was defenseless. So I went along with it. My patrons often gave me gifts of jewelry and money, but I never wanted it. I always wanted something more important, something more useful. It was something I knew would help me in the future."

The following word falls from his lips with such ease and grace that everyone is taken aback.

"_Secrets_."

_Tell me what you want to hear  
Something that'll light those ears  
Seeking for the insincere  
I'm gonna give all my secrets away_


	4. Part IV

**Nobody's Perfect (Part IV of V)**

_When I'm nervous  
I have this thing where I talk too much  
Sometimes I just can't shut the hell up  
And that's where I seem to fuck up_

"For the rebels, Mr. Mellark has some words," President Snow says, when he's finished speaking.

"Yes I do. Stop it! Stop fighting we need… we need to end this. We don't have the manpower; we don't have very much left to have another rebellion. Please, let's just go back. Just cease-fire please! We can come to a compromise, or whatever. Cease fire, and we can talk this out. There are so many damages that we can't afford to repair. District 7 has a broken dam, it was flooded out-"

Suddenly Katniss flashes across the screen and Peeta freezes. He sees her in all her rebellious glory and wishes he were there, wishes he could hold her.

He's back on screen again and tries to keep talking, but he's distracted. Her face brought him new hope, a new reason to live. Suddenly another flash, but this time of Finnick giving words about Rue.

President Snow maintains his composure as his tech team battles to regain control of the screens. He clears his throat when he's given the clear and begins to speak again.

"It seems as if the rebels are trying to deflect the information they find incriminating. We will be continuing this broadcast later, when security breach has been taken under control. Peeta, any departing words?"

"Yes, I have a few. Katniss… how do you think this will end? What will be left? No one is safe. Not in the Capitol. Not in the districts. And you… in Thirteen…" Peeta inhales, remember the information he had overheard that very morning. He had to help them, in any way he could. "Dead by morning!" He calls.

President Snow hisses for them to end the tape, to cut the broadcast. Peeta attempts to continue speaking.

"Katniss just be careful! Katniss! I lo-" There's a blow to his head as he cries out in pain. Another kick to his side opens up un-properly healed wounds and splatters blood all over the white tiles. While he is being beaten into an oblivion, he prays that District Thirteen got the hint and that Katniss will be safe from the impending bombs.

_Yeah I forget about the consequences  
For a minute there I lose my senses  
And in the heat of the moment  
My mouth starts going  
The words start flowing_


	5. Part V

**Who You Are (Part V of V)**

_I stare at my reflection in the mirror  
Why am I doing this to myself?  
Losing my mind on a tiny error,  
I nearly left the real me on the shelf_

Johanna glances at the mirror as she brushes what little hair she has left into something decent. Under her breath she murmurs profanities to Snow and curses when she can't get herself to look presentable.

"What the hell?!" She roars, before gripping the small vanity. What was she doing? Trying to impress Gale? He was in love with Brainless so what was the point? Yeah, they flirted and laughed and talked like regular co-workers but to be honest, that was really just a deception.

Groaning in frustration, Johanna drops her head onto the vanity. She had never been confused when it came to shit like this before. She had always had everything under control, and always knew whether or not someone loved her.

She thought Gale liked her, she dreamed of it. But dreaming was believing and her beliefs always got smashed into smithereens.

"Johanna are you coming out?" Speak of the devil, horns and all. She glances at her charred hair and rolls her eyes. If he liked her, he'd like her for her.

"Yeah, I'm right here." She exits the compartment and Gale smiles.

"Took you long enough. You alright?"

"I'm fine."

"You sure? It's okay not to be okay Johanna and if you're not doing too well then-"

"What is this? Are we friends or no? I'm just confused."

"Johanna Mason is confused. That goes down in my book of firsts."

"Put it right next to the blank space labeled _'First Time I had Sex'_," she scoffs.

"Ooh, ouch. That hit me in the heart," Gale cries, feigning a heart attack.

"You never answered me."

"… I hope we're more than friends, because then all this seductive, sultry charm is going to waste." Johanna refrains from lighting up and instead punches his arm.

"Gale Hawthorne, seductive? Are we talking about the same Gale Hawthorne that eats wild dog soup with his fingers?"

"That was once!"

_Seeing is deceiving  
Dreaming is believing  
It's okay not to be okay_


End file.
